18 Life Lessons For 18 Years of Life

Being 18 doesn’t mean I have a vast amount of knowledge. Neither does being an adult. To be honest, does anyone really ever stop learning about life, regardless of age? It appears there is always something for us to face. I have learnt many things throughout the years, so I thought it would be interesting to share 18 life lessons for every year I’ve been alive.

1. Honesty is important

When I was a young girl, I would make up extravagant lies just to seem ‘cool’. You could tell I wasn’t truly happy with myself, if I needed to lie. All lies catch up with you, and noone trusts a liar!

2. Not all your friends are really your friends.

This has been a hard lesson for me to learn. When it comes to friendships, I am loyal and ferociously over protective. It took to reach this age to realise that all of the ‘friends’ I had, were never truly my friends.

3. Don’t expect people to treat you the way you treat them.

If you do something good for someone, stop expecting a lifetime of gratitude from this person. Instead, move on. And if they do not return the help when you are in need, just learn from it.

4. Not everything goes according to plan.

This is called life, not a story you can write. Things happen everyday, and although you can work hard to shape your future, there will always be obstacles.

5. There is plenty of time for relationships.

I simply wanted to have a relationship to fit in with my friends because they all wrre in one. I needed to realise that I have my whole life to settle down, and that I was far too young to be tied down.

6. Once you fall off the horse, don’t stay down.

This is something a lot of people need to hear. Having a setback is just that.. a mere setback. For you to obstruct and alter your future over something, is a fatuous choice. And one you will regret.

7. You are not really invisible.

I’ve gone through life thinking that noone really sees me. That I don’t stand out from the crowd or anything. This is false and pure foolishness. Of course people see you. Your friends and family do, especially. So get that silly notion of your head.

8. Be happy with what you have and who you are.

Jealousy will get you nowhere. Be content with your true self, because there is none quite like you. Stop trying to alter yourself to be a copy of another.

9. Pain doesn’t last forever.

That utterly heart wrenching sting, that you never thought was gonna go away, will eventualy go away. It doesn’t stay there forever. Give it time.

10. Other’s opinions do not define who you are.

You will encounter a few ‘haters’. Just know that whatever they say, doesn’t define you as a person. Just remember that.

11. Do not rise to those who seek it.

I can’t even count on my hand how many times I let my temper get the best of me and satisfied those who attempted to see that side of me. Don’t give them the satisfaction.

12. Eliminate those in your life who have no faith in you and bring you down.

If there is one friend who you thought of while reading that, get rid of them. You’ll immediately see the results of cutting out these toxic people.

13. Less of ‘I can’t’ and more of ‘I can’

How is anyone supposed to believe in you if you don’t believe in yourself? Confidence is important and you hinder your own life without it.

14. Go with the flow.

Stop being so uptight and just… chill. Let life take it’s course.

15. Smile more

If you smile more, you actually begin to feel happy yourself. Similar to confidence. Once you fake it, it actually becomes real.

16. Don’t do something for someone who wouldn’t do the same for you.

I know it sounds awful, but one thing I’ve learnt is that people don’t always treat you the same as you’d treat them. Be wise about who you give your all to.

17. Karma, karma, karma

What goes around comes around. Remember this the next time your in the process of doing something you’ll regret. And vice versa for those who wrong you.

18. Carpe Diem

Seize the day. You only live once. Make sure it’s a life full of memories.